Many articles of manufacturer must be packaged for shipment by common carrier, and therefore may be subject to rough handling. When such articles are fragile, they must be protected against the possibility that their container may be dropped, battered, or pierced. A common approach to protecting fragile articles is to place the article in a corrugated container surrounded by packing material.
One method has been to use loose fill such as foam "peanuts" or crumpled paper. This method has the disadvantage that the article may be able to migrate through the fill as it vibrates during transport, and eventually find its way to an outer wall of the container where the article is less protected. Another method has been to provide a structural insert such as a molded foam jacket which fits the article and occupies all the remaining space in the carton. Although this method is effective in protecting the article, it is very expensive.
A widespread goal in paperboard and corrugated packaging is to provide all desired structural features of a container from a single flat blank of material. Some prior containers have formed up from a blank with panels extending into the interior of the container, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,829,942; 1,889,933; 3,158,286; 3,229,812; 3,836,065; 4,817,796; and 5,150,789. However, none of these containers position an article away from the exterior walls of the container or cushion it against shock.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a carton, formed from a one-piece blank, that positions an article within the carton, spaced away from the exterior walls, and holds the article firmly in place in a manner which cushions the article if the carton is dropped or impacted. There is a further need in the art for a carton that can protect in this way objects which vary within a range of sizes.